Earth's Redemption
by Yunagirlamy
Summary: In another alternate time-line, Goku was not the one to die from the heart virus. In this time-line, the heart virus leaves three children motherless and with a father who fails to protect them. More original than it sounds.
1. Prologue: The Story of the Past

**Author's Notes: I've been thinking about this for a long time now. Now, I have a couple of warnings: 1. there will be original characters and 2. There will be swearing. Come on, if you were in this kind of situation, you'd be foul-mouthed too, wouldn't you? Also, I wouldn't really read this story if you're a fan of Future Trunk; to be honest, I don't like him. I have no idea why, but I just don't. I much prefer the present Trunks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story.**

**Summary: In another alternate time-line, Goku was not the one to die from the heart virus. In this time-line, the heart virus leaves three children motherless and with a father who fails to protect them. Read the story of how Goku's third child overcomes the difficulty of the world she lives in fear of.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my original characters. I do not own Dragon Ball/Z/GT. (and who would _want_ to own _that_?)**

**Prologue: The Story of the Past.**

I have a story that not many of the world knows about. In truth, only my father and the Brief family are fully aware of it… well, I suppose the world _does_ know the story but only the basic facts. I don't really like the idea of telling everyone about my life – I would rather forget it myself.

I would have no misery filling my memories that way. However, that misery has now been joined by happiness and joy; but only a little bit. I mean, I destroyed them, but there is the destruction they left behind to sort out, and no-one wants to face the hard and gruelling job of restoring the Earth. If only we still had the Dragon Balls, we could wish everything back to normal; they faded away long ago, though. Along with the Earth's warriors.

I never knew them; they all died before I could make their acquaintance. My Dad sometimes talks about them, and when does, he always obtains a look of complete sadness in his eyes and they glisten with tears. Tears that never fall.

I know my father has cried, though. Whenever he is in his room at night, and thinks I am sleeping soundly in my bed (which I'm don't), he lets free the waterfalls of tears. I know he doesn't cry for his friends, though. No, he cries for his lost love… and my lost siblings. Now that the Earth doesn't have a threat, my father will smile at times—he even doesn't cry at night sometimes, which makes me happy. I can't bear hearing my father crying. It loosens the tears held in my own eyes and I sob quietly. I think my father can sense whenever I'm crying, however; he always embraces me tightly the next morning.

He once admitted to me that he cries because he remembers the day the hell machines arrived. It was, as he tells me, the worst day of his life. My brother was only six, and my cousin only seven. My grandfather was still alive, and my mother… my mother was still alive, too.

The mother I knew, but cannot remember. I was only a child of two when my mother passed away from the deadly virus that ripped her heart apart. The virus that changed the course of our lives forever. My friends once asked me that if I had any wish for the Dragon Balls, what it would be.

And you know what I did?

I looked them in the eyes and said, "My Mother."

Because I truly believe that if my mother was still alive, the world would be a better place.

My cousin says that she and I look like her—which only makes it all the harder to look in the mirror. I envy my cousin, because she knew my mother and was by her side when she died. Two years before I freed the Earth from its terror, my grandfather fell to the androids. My cousin fell apart and she went travelling the world to rid herself of the horrible memories. I felt for her when she returned and learnt that she had lost two more family members. The heart-wrenching sobs made my mind up that day.

I was going to the past – and I was going to change everything.

**PROLOGUE COMPLETE.**

**I apologise for it being so short, but prologues are meant to be short anyway, are they not? I can't promise that updates will be daily, as I get the dreaded "writer's block" once too often. But I hope you enjoyed what you have read so far. **

**Yunagirlamy, 27.12.10. **


	2. Chapter One: The Story of Farewell

**Author's Notes: It's lovely to know that people are reading this story. Now, I promise you that this will as original as possible, and will not take anything from the TV special "The History of Trunks". However, there will be certain elements of the story that will possibly be similar; I don't know, I haven't written it yet. To be honest, I have a basic plot line in my head; it's just putting it into chapters without making it too short.**

**Summary: In another alternate time-line, Goku was not the one to die from the heart virus. In this time-line, the heart virus leaves three children motherless and with a father who fails to protect them. Read the story of how Goku's third child overcomes the difficulty of the world she lives in fear of.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my original characters. I do not own Dragon Ball/Z/GT. (And who would **_**want**_** to own **_**that**_**?)**

**Chapter One: The Story of Farewell.**

"Goten, slow down!"

"No, Gohan! Her _ki_ is fading quickly—and I'm not going to let her die without me there!"

Two brothers were running swiftly through the forest, towards their small home outside of it. The older brother was slightly lagging behind his younger brother; what Goten didn't know was that _she_ was not going to die without them there – she was simply too stubborn to. Gohan knew that telling his younger brother this would only succeed in Goten speeding up. But, Gohan _could_ understand _why_ Goten wanted to hurry to be there beside her side—the kid was only ten, for Kami's sake! Besides, everyone knew that Goten and his mother shared a special bond, one that no one else could quite understand.

"Chika will make sure she doesn't, I _swear_, Goten!" Gohan knew it was useless trying to calm the kid down, but his role as older brother demanded that he try the best he possibly could.

"Chika isn't magic!" Goten snapped. Then, a loud groan came past his lips. "This is _use_less!" Then, without warning, his hair suddenly spiked up and was a bright golden colour. How the kid became a Super Saiyan so young—well, no one really knew. The kid then took to the air, flying off seemingly faster than the speed of light. At least, it looked that way to Gohan; all he saw was a golden blur.

"Damn…" Gohan muttered – and decided it was best he transform to Super Saiyan, too. But, if he was being honest, he'd rather that he didn't have to transform – because now they stood the risk of getting the Androids' attention. No one actually knew if they could sense _ki_ or not—but it was definitely safer not to jeopardise it. That's why his father had made that wish on the Dragon Balls when they found out the Androids were after him. Yes, it meant that if they Androids _could_ sense _ki_ they wouldn't be able to sense his father—however, it also meant that his father had no _ki_ to use to fight against the Androids with. His cousin, Chika, thought it was a "pretty stupid" wish and that her Uncle could have defeated the Androids easily if he had just tried. Gohan, on the other hand, admired his father for it. He knew how much his father loved fighting, but he gave that up just so he would not leave his family all alone. Gohan once had doubts that his father preferred fighting over his family—now Gohan knew that his father would choose his family over fighting any day.

Being lost in his thoughts so much, Gohan didn't realise that he had arrived at his family home. He looked around – his little brother was nowhere to be seen. Of course, he had already raced into the house. The kid was probably still a Super Saiyan, probably frightened his poor mother. But that didn't matter right now – his mother's _ki_ was close to vanishing—Gohan _had_ to be there for her!

He rushed into his home and ran up to his mother and father's bedroom, where all the family was gathered: his father, his two grandfathers, his cousin, his little sister, his little brother… and his Mom, of whom he could not bear the sight of right now.

She looked… very much unlike herself. Her skin was deathly pale. Her bones were nearly showing, causing her to almost look like a skeleton. Sweat covered her face and her black hair stuck to the skin of it. Her eyes were closed in pain and her body was thrusting about, as if she was having a bad dream—but Gohan knew better. A deadly virus was ripping her heart apart at this very moment and it was more excruciating than she could bear. From her mouth emitted loud cries of pain.

Gohan suddenly clenched his fists in anger – it was bad enough that he and his cousin should have to see his mother like this, but to let two young children witness the death of their mother? What _was_ his father thinking?

'_Dad, what the hell are you doing?' _Gohan spoke to his father's mind. Before his father had a chance to respond, Gohan added more. _'Goten and Gosina shouldn't be seein—'_

'—_I know, Gohan. You don't need to remind me.'_

'_Then why the hell are they here? This is hardly an appropriate place for—'_

'_Shut the hell up, Gohan!' _Now it was his cousin interrupting him. _'It's happening so just deal with it! Goten is old enough to make his own decisions and Gosina isn't old enough to remember it!'_

'… _Whatever. It doesn't make it right, though.'_

He received no answer – only a glare from his cousin.

Everyone was emotional, except for Gosina. Gohan glanced over at his baby sister—she was behind her father's legs, hugging the material of his jeans as tight as she could. It wasn't fair that she had to be here, she was only two-years-old. Chika thought that it would not affect Gosina, but Gohan knew in some tiny way that it would. Children were scarred quite easily and seeing her mother die right before her very eyes could scar her for life. All Gohan wanted to do was to scoop her up and take her as far away as possible. He knew he would not be allowed though; his father would forbid against it, and even though his father did not have the strength to fight him anymore, he was still Gohan's father and Gohan would not disobey him.

All of a sudden, his mother let out a loud cry and she swiftly sat up.

"Chi-Chi!" his father yelled, running over to his wife. His daughter stayed where she was, tears in her eyes. It was obvious to Gohan that she didn't understand why her daddy was abandoning her. But Gohan knew that his young daughter was the last thing on his father's mind right now. So, Gohan walked over to his sister, gently picked her up and turned around so she wouldn't have to see. Gosina responded by hugging her arms around his neck securely and crying quietly into the crook of his neck. Gohan sighed and ran his hand over his sister's hair in an attempt to calm her down. When her crying died down somewhat Gohan glanced over to his little brother—and he nearly burst into tears himself at the sight.

Goten was in the corner—having being pushed there by his father—with his knees cuddled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Fat tears rolled rapidly down Goten's cheeks and he was shaking his head as if trying to disbelieve that this was actually happening.

Gohan looked to his father – he was holding his wife in his arms as close to him as he could. So now Gohan had the perfect opportunity to take Gosina and Goten and get them the _hell_ out of there. His father wouldn't notice – the only person Goku was concentrating on was his sick wife.

His paternal grandfather, Bardock, must have read his mind because he took Goten into his arms and hurriedly left the room. Surprisingly, Goten made no noises of rejection or rebellion—he just let himself be taken. Gohan thought Goten would have shouted out even the tiniest _"No!"_

Gohan quickly followed his grandfather, making sure to shield his sister's eyes. He took her downstairs into the living room and set her down on the sofa besides Goten. Then, much to Gohan and Bardock's surprise, Gosina instantly crawled into her brother's lap, rested her head against his chest and wrapped her tiny arms around his frame. It would have been such a heart-warming scene to see if not for the circumstances.

'_Gohan! You need to come, now! She… your mother hasn't got much time left…' _came Chika's voice floating in his mind.

As much as he wanted to rush to his mother's side, he didn't want to leave his younger siblings. He was their older brother and the truth was that they depended on him. Ever since their mother became ill with the heart virus, his father had practically started to ignore everyone else and just focus all his attention on his wife. He never left her side, not once. So for attention and nurture, his siblings came to him. Not that Gohan minded – he enjoyed spending so much time with them and it meant that they all had a close bond with each other. It had made his cousin very envious, however.

Before his mother got sick, Gohan and Chika would spend all their time together. They played together, pulled pranks together, laughed together, joked together—they essentially did just about everything together. So when Goten and Gosina started to demand attention from Gohan, Chika would try her hardest to please her cousins' needs – she thought they actually would have come to her, since she was older than Gohan. But no, they only wanted their older brother. It hurt Chika a lot, Gohan could tell. He tried to spend just as much time with her as he did before, but she never wanted to know. Always, she would reply with a snide comment like, _"Don't your siblings miss you?"_

"Go on, Gohan." His grandfather's cut across his thoughts. "I know how much you want to be with your mother."

"B-But Goten and Gosina—" Gohan spluttered.

"—will be fine. I'll be here with them."

Gohan stared for a couple of minutes at his siblings; all that crying had worn Goten out. His head was bowed slightly and he held Gosina close to him. Gosina was still in the same position she put herself into—now she had her eyes closed and her breathing was soft and even, indicating that she was asleep too.

Sighing deeply, Gohan nodded his head and then ran back upstairs. Chika greeted him at the door, arms crossed and a seldom look on her face. Gohan took this as the worst news possible.

"Is she…?" He asked the question he feared to ask the most.

Chika shook her head, sending relief coursing through his body. That was short-lived, though.

"No, but she hasn't got long left."

Tears threatened to fall from Gohan's eyes at that very moment. He just wiped them away as if they were poison.

Taking a deep breath, Gohan brushed past Chika into his mother's room and immediately rushed to her side. He kneeled down and took her hand—and gasped at the touch. Her skin was _so_ cold. There was still life, though. Gohan could _feel_ it. His mother was stubborn, she was going to hold onto that little bit of life left and still try to fight the virus. If nothing else, it was just a tiny glimmer of hope for her.

Gohan averted his eyes to his father. Goku was in just the same position as Gohan, except tears were streaming down his cheeks and all Gohan could see in his father's eyes was undying love for the woman in front of him. There was once upon a time that Gohan thought his father didn't actually love his mother—the fact that Goku stayed away from Earth for a whole year strengthened Gohan's thoughts. However, Gohan now knew that he was wrong. Oh, he was _so_ wrong. The love the two shared was unbreakable – it was the only thing the heart virus would not kill. Their love was going to carry on forever.

"Chi-Chi!"

Whilst deep in thought, Gohan did not notice the cold hand of his mother go limp.

**CHAPTER ONE COMPLETE.**

**Sorry if I made anyone cry. It shouldn't have though – I mean, I'm one of the most sensitive people around and I didn't cry. **

**I tried to be as kind to Chi-Chi as I could. She is, after all, my favourite female Dragon Ball Z character. Yeah, some of you may think Chi-Chi is a cold-hearted bitch, but she's actually not. Is it really so wrong to want the best for your children? Hell, if I was a mother, I'd be much more comfortable with the knowledge my child was safe whilst studying instead of being in grave danger whilst fighting. **

**But, I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If you think Chi-Chi is a bitch, then you go right ahead and keep thinking that—I'll just sit here and disagree strongly with you.**

**Oh yeah, about Bardock being there… basically, in my AU, Bardock didn't go to fight Freeza, he went with his son to Earth. I really can't be bothered to write such a thing, even though I love **_**Dragon Ball**_**.**

**Yunagirlamy, 20.2.11.**


	3. Chapter Two: The Story of the Beginning

**Author's Notes: I fear people may not click on this story for fear of it being an overused plot. Well, I'll try to be as original as I can. After all, I've never seen a story about the alternate timeline where Goku is alive and Chi-Chi is not. If there is one, however, please tell me. I would like to read it.**

**Summary: In another alternate time-line, Goku was not the one to die from the heart virus. In this time-line, the heart virus leaves three children motherless and with a father who fails to protect them. Read the story of how Goku's third child overcomes the difficulty of the world she lives in fear of.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my original characters. I do not own Dragon Ball/Z/GT. (And who would **_**want**_** to own **_**that**_**?)**

**Chapter Two: The Story of the Beginning.**

Today he wore a real smile on his face—and in these times, that was rare. Normally Gohan wore fake smiles, only for the benefit of the rest of his family. Whilst his father, his grandfather, his cousin and his brother didn't really seem to get much from them, his sister certainly did. She always smiled back – whether hers was real or fake, though, Gohan couldn't tell – placed her hand over his and gave him a look that Gohan just _knew_ said, _"Thank you, Gohan."_ Of course, Gosina was the only who smiled back because she was not quite old enough to understand what was going on. Being only seven-years-old, she couldn't remember how her mother died. She couldn't even remember her mother. To Gohan, that made her the luckiest, but also the unluckiest, out of them all.

She was lucky that she couldn't remember how her mother died, because Gohan would have given _any_thing to forget how his mother left the world. One thing he could never forgive himself for was that he didn't even notice that his mother died.

"Gohan, why are you smiling?"

Gohan stopped himself automatically looking at her—he had to concentrate on the road, even though he was the only car on it. Goten had questioned earlier why they weren't flying; Gohan had the simple answer to that – so that they wouldn't risk the Androids sensing them. Goten's reply had been a roll of his eyes, a swear word under his breath and crossing his arms.

Goten wanted to fight the Androids desperately, Gohan could tell. Goten had already fought against the Androids at least fifty times before, but always with Gohan there. Gohan would not allow Goten to fight on his own, because Goten would not be able to survive if he fought the Androids alone. All Goten thought was that Gohan was undermining him and that he was far stronger than Gohan believed him to be. Gohan, however, knew that Goten was not as strong as he claimed. Whenever they trained Goten was always out of breath just an hour into the regime—which was how Gohan knew that Goten was not putting his all into the training. It would have looked that way to any normal person, but if Goten was putting his all into training, he wouldn't have been out of breath when doing only an hour of training.

It annoyed Gohan that they had to train in secret, though; ever since his mother died, his father took on both roles of a mother and father. What it meant really was that anything Chi-Chi didn't like Gohan and Goten doing, Goku _hated_ them doing it. For instance, fighting against the Androids was something that his mother hated them to do—she would always plead with them not go. With Goku… he would always yell and scream and shout, and threaten to punish them the moment they returned home. So it was no wonder that Gohan and Goten normally had to sneak out.

"Didn't you hear Trunks' girlfriend, you dumbass?" Goten snapped from his seat in the back.

"Goten!" Gohan sighed. There wasn't really a time where Goten _was_ nice to Gosina. Gohan had the theory that it was because Gosina took her looks from her mother. Chika thought it was because Goku treated Gosina better than the rest of them – and it was true. It really was.

His father was always making sure that there was nothing wrong with Gosina—Kami forbid there ever should be. He never yelled at Gosina, never got annoyed with her, always did what she asked him to. It hurt Gohan to admit it, but it was obvious that Gosina was Goku's favourite child. His father wasn't really aware that he was treating her differently, though. Gohan supposed it was because Gosina looked like her mother.

"What?" Goten asked sharply. "She _was_ there – she has ears, doesn't she?"

"I can hear you, you asshole!" Gosina retorted. Of course, Gosina didn't act very friendly to Goten – but then again, who could blame her? Plus the fact that she _was_ a child and so probably thought that was how she _had_ to act in order to get any attention from Goten.

"Language, Gosina…" Gohan lightly reprimanded. Why was a seven-year-old using the word "asshole"? It was a good thing that their father wasn't in the car with them.

Gosina huffed and crossed her arms. "You didn't tell Goten off for swearing."

"That's because I'm old enough, dumbass."

"Shut up, you asshole!"

"Make me, bitch!"

Gohan tightened his grip on the steering wheel and gritted his teeth. Couldn't the two just learn to get along?

"Why don't you just stop being a bas—"

"That's enough, you two!" Gohan roared, pushing his foot down on the brakes. "For Kami's sake, you two are brother and sister! With the world we live in, you two should learn to get along for you never know if the Androids are going to get us or not!"

"You mean just like they got Mom?" Goten barked.

Gohan blinked. Did he just hear right? Was Goten losing his memory or something? "Goten, she died from the heart virus."

"Yeah, which was made by Dr. Gero who made the Androids, you asshole!" Before Gohan could speak, Goten stood up and levitated a few feet above the car. "You know what, screw this! I'm going to go and fight those bastards."

"Goten, wait!" Gohan cried, reaching out his arm as if he would actually be able to grab Goten. Sadly, no such thing was possible. But it was too late – a golden aura surrounded Goten and he then swiftly flew away, nearly tipping over the car with the strong winds he left behind.

Gohan growled – he was now in a difficult position. Should he go after Goten and leave his sister behind, or leave his brother to fight the Androids, possibly leading to his death?

There was no way he could leave his sister behind—she couldn't fly, nor did she know how to fight.

But there was no way he could let his brother fight the Androids alone.

With his mind made up, Gohan turned to Gosina—his lips set in a thin frown. "Gosina," he started, his voice firm, "I'm going to go and get Goten. Call out for Chika in your mind." Leaving no room for argument, Gohan shot up out of the car following the direction his brother had gone in.

"G-Gohan! Don't leave me!" he heard his sister cry out. Gohan closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. Gosina would see it as favouring Goten's life over hers and she would take a while to stop hating Gohan for it, but Gohan had no choice. Gosina was far safer than Goten where she was.

About ten minutes later, relief fell over Gohan's face as he sensed his brother not too far up ahead—he wasn't too late in stopping his brother! The thought that he would have to fight Goten nagged at the back of his mind, but maybe if he used the right words he could convince Goten to come back home without fighting.

Just maybe… he could convince Goten to stop fighting the Androids all together. That would be so much better.

However, deep in Gohan's heart he knew that Goten would _never_ stop fighting. Because Goten was fighting for his late mother - for revenge against her unjust death.

Seeing his brother, even though to Gohan's eyes he was just a tiny dot, Gohan increased his speed—he caught up to his brother and with an enormous amount of force, he wrapped his arms around Goten's body.

"What the—!" Goten exclaimed in surprise. "Gohan, let me go! I _have_ to fight the Androids!" Gohan only tightened his grip, hell-bent on getting Goten back home without a single scratch.

"No, you _don't_."

"How could you possibly understand?" Goten cried. "You didn't love Mom as much as I did!"

And Gohan let go. Those words had shocked him to the core. How could Goten say that? He was just as torn apart by his mother's death as Goten was. He had spent two years—two whole years—locking himself away from everyone, not saying a single word. His isolation brought a good thing, though; he trained and fought the Androids a lot by himself, making him grow stronger and stronger.

Then one day, Goten had requested to train with him. Gohan really couldn't say no to his little brother so he accepted his request—and day after day, he watched his brother mature to levels Gohan though Goten never would. It wasn't that Gohan doubted his brother; it was the fact that Gohan had a hard time accepting he wasn't the only strong Saiyan hybrid.

Once again, Gohan found that he got lost in his thoughts – for when he looked down, he saw that his brother had gone.

He _really_ needed to sort that whole getting-lost-in-thought problem out.

* * *

Gosina's eyes only left the skies when she could no longer see her brother. She let out a sigh and rested her elbow against the door of the car, allowing her to rest her hand on her cheek.

Had Gohan _really_ done that? She had no trouble understanding why Goten had shot off—but _Gohan_, her older brother who would protect her no matter what? What did it mean? _Why_ would he just leave her here, open and vulnerable to any attacks by artificial humans?

Suddenly, it clicked – and it clicked _hard_. Gosina's eyes widened in realisation and they flashed hurt.

Gohan had chosen Goten's life over _hers_. He had chosen to save the life of the person who _could_ fight over the person who _couldn't_ fight. In _what_ world was that fair? Gohan thought that Goten wouldn't be able to survive fighting the Androids on his own, but Gosina _knew_ he could. She had watched him train relentlessly, never stopping for a break, _and never_ giving up. That was why he was always out of breath when training with Gohan, because he had been training for _hours_ before. Not that Gosina would actually admit to anyone – she'd rather die than admit it – but she admired Goten _so_ much. She _wanted_ to be like _him_. To train and never give up. To fight for _some_thing. Not being able to fight and only able to sit on her backside whilst her brothers and her cousin fought made her feel useless.

So when Daddy had gone to bed later that night, she would ask Goten—and if needed be, _plead_ with him—to start training her.

Which reminded her; Gohan had said to call out for Chika. Gosina scoffed in disgust – why call out for her _cousin_? She never paid any attention to her and in the rare times that she did, Chika would sends dirty looks her way or make unpleasant comments about her. So it really made no sense to call out for Chika. But then, Gosina knew why Gohan wanted her to do that – it was so he didn't get in trouble with his father.

_Well tough_, Gosina decided with a smirk. _This is my revenge for him leaving me._

She took a deep breath, in and out, and then connected up a mental link to her father's mind.

'_Daddy, can you hear me?'_

Her father wasted no time in replying. _'What's wrong, Gosina? Are you hurt? Oh no, where are you?' _Panic could be heard clearly in his tone.

Gosina rolled her eyes – her father was constantly overprotective. She was never allowed to leave the house unless Gohan was with her. She wasn't even allowed to form a _ki_ ball, despite the fact that she couldn't. Whenever she did a silly thing just as _tripping_, her father always coddled her, never letting her out of his sight until she was healed. Whilst it was true that Gosina _did_ enjoy all the attention from her father, she couldn't help but think it was because she looked like her mother—she'd actually never met her mother but had been told plenty of times how much she'd looked like her.

'_No, I'm fine,'_ she answered calmly. _'Goten went off to fight the Androids and Gohan went to stop him.'_

'_So… they left you all alone?' _her father asked in disbelief.

'_Yeah.'_

'_Where are you?'_

'_I'm…' _Gosina trailed off as she looked at her surroundings. All that greeted her eyes was the rubble of yet another city flattened by the Androids. It made her blood boil. All those innocents lives, destroyed for fun. _'At a wrecked city.' _It was too hard to keep the anger out of her voice.

'_Can you see a sign, sweetheart?' _

Gosina scanned the area, looking for something that said the city's name. But there was no such luck – from where she was, she could not see a sign of any sort. This was hopeless—why was Gohan driving through a demolished city anyway? What was the point? Perhaps he did it without realising – but that was stupid, Gosina told herself. Wouldn't you notice a destroyed city? Maybe this was the only way home or at least the quickest. After all, this lame car wasn't an air car.

_Stupid car._

'_No. I'd have to get out of the car.'_

'_Alright. I'll get Chika to sense where you are and then I'll come fetch you.'_

'_Thank you, Daddy.'_

All she could do now was sit and wait patiently. Her seven-year-old mind did not realise it, but she was waiting for one of two things.

Wait to be rescued and live… or wait to be found and die.

**CHAPTER TWO COMPLETE.**

**As strange and sadistic as it sounds, I actually really enjoy writing this story. For those who are wondering, Goten is my favourite Dragon Ball Z character, but unfortunately, I cannot be as kind to him as I could to his mother. From the prologue, you know where his fate is heading. It won't be **_**too**_** soon, though. I want this story to be as long as possible. **

**Yunagirlamy, 23.2.11.**


	4. Chapter Three: The Story of the Attack

**Author's Notes: It seems I'm a better writer when I write serious. Wow, that's quite awesome actually.**

**Summary: In another alternate time-line, Goku was not the one to die from the heart virus. In this time-line, the heart virus leaves three children motherless and with a father who fails to protect them. Read the story of how Goku's third child overcomes the difficulty of the world she lives in fear of.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my original characters. I do not own Dragon Ball/Z/GT. (And who would **_**want**_** to own **_**that**_**?)**

**Chapter Three: The Story of the Attack.**

He was pissed off, beyond all belief. Never in his life had he been so pissed off. Gohan just _didn't_ understand. He wasn't safe enough to be stopped. He didn't care if found the Androids or not, he just needed some way to release all the built up anger in him. It had started last night, when his father yelled at him for sneaking out to fight the Androids. In all honesty, he was surprised he didn't end up punching his father in the face because that's what he _really_ wanted to do. He did not shout back, made no comments—he just stood there taking the lecture, fists clenched at his side and his eyes down on the floor. If he had looked up at his father, he _would_ have punched him. Then later that night, his sister told him not to be "nasty to Daddy", which shocked him. He didn't even _say_ anything to his father! He'd come close to hitting his sister, but what kind of brother what _that_ make him? Instead, he ordered his sister—not too nicely—to get out of his room. Gosina started crying then, and ran off saying that she would tell her father how mean he was being. His father grounded him for that—but it wasn't as if Goten cared. He went out regardless of whether he was grounded or not.

This morning Gohan had a go at him for being mean to his sister, which angered him further. No one saw things the way he did—no one understood that everything he did, everything he said was for the benefit of everyone else. His father and Gohan had accused him of being selfish, which Goten _had_ to bite back at. He wasn't selfish, he never had been. If he was selfish, he wouldn't fight the Androids in the hopes of making the world somewhere better for his family to live. They didn't see it, but he would _die_ for his family, his father included.

He loved his father, more than people thought he did. Yes, his father got on his nerves a lot – but Goten loved the man to pieces. He remembered when he was Gosina's age – his father would play with him all the time, making sure there was a smile on Goten's face always.

He loved every single member of his family—he just wanted them to understand him, to understand his feelings, and not to keep yelling at him.

Goten knew he had to go back home sooner or later, so he landed in a forest hoping to release his frustration there. He didn't want to seem like the Androids, not at all, but he would pick his family's safety over nature's any day. His plan was to destroy some of the trees, and if was still angry after that, maybe even a couple of mountains. After all, it wasn't like anybody was going to miss them.

_There's not a lot of people around _to _miss them, _Goten thought dejectedly. _Those stupid—!_

He took a deep breath—to maybe release some anger. A white aura started to surround his hand, and he raised it above his head, ready to fire it at a tree. He was just about prepared to send the blast hurtling at a big oak tree in front of him, when…

'_Goten, are you alright?'_

Goten let out a surprised gasp, and fell straight to the ground on his face. Goten groaned and spat the dirt from out of his mouth. He sat up on his knees before answering.

'_The hell do you want, old man?' _Goten had a snarl in his tone.

'_Watch your attitude, Goten. I just wanted to know if you're okay – I'm concerned. Gosina told me that you flew away from the car.'_

Of course. His sister just _had_ to blab to their father. It was rare that Gosina could keep her mouth shut, even for five whole seconds. Whilst it was true that Goten hadn't really given any thought to his sister telling on him when he flew away, he was still going to _kill_ her. If she tried talking to him tonight, he would just punch her. Goten didn't have a specific place where he would punch her, just the nearest part of her body.

'_And what the hell do you care?'_

'_I'm your father, Goten, of course I care.' _

Goten scoffed. _'So what you mean is you're only checking I'm okay because you're my Dad, and not because you're actually bothered about me?'_

'_Goten…' _

'_Whatever. Go to hell, Dad.' _ He would probably be receiving a scolding the moment he returned home, but he had gotten so many of them he could have been awarded a trophy for the most scolding's by your parent.

'_Goten, I am fed up with this attitude of yours.'_

'… _And?'_

His father undoubtedly sighed. _'I want you to fix it. Now. Goten, I hate us fighting—'_

'_You're the one starting the fights.'_

'_Only because you never listen to anything I tell you.' _That astounded Goten; he thought for sure his father would blame him.

'_Well who else is going to fight the Androids, Dad? Because _you_ certainly aren't.'_

'_Goten, you know I can't.'_

'_That's bullshit, Dad and you know it! You're just—'_

"Well, well, well, what do we have here #18?"

"I don't know, #17. It looks like some scared and lost little boy."

Goten's eyes broadened and his heart stopped dead. He felt as if he was frozen to the spot. They were here. The damned machines were actually here. How they found him, Goten had no clue.

"I've been bored lately, sister. How about we have some fun with this kid?"

"Oh, my sentiments exactly, #17."

The Androids had found him, and they were here – ready to kill him.

'_Goten…? GOTEN!'_

**CHAPTER THREE COMPLETE.**

**The inevitable has happened – I have written a chapter I hate. I just hate hate hate this one. I mean, it's not filler or anything, but I just hate it. I hope you don't, though. **

**Yunagirlamy, 1.3.11.**


	5. Chapter Four: The Story of the Family

**Author's Notes: ****Yeah, I know it's taken ages for me to update but I suppose that's a good thing considering all the complaints about not being able to upload documents and things like that. Anyway, I've had a short burst of inspiration because I watched _Dragon Ball_ last night. I was watching episode 124 in bed, and I fell asleep goddamn it. **

**Summary: In another alternate time-line, Goku was not the one to die from the heart virus. In this time-line, the heart virus leaves three children motherless and with a father who fails to protect them. Read the story of how Goku's third child overcomes the difficulty of the world she lives in fear of.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my original characters. I do not own Dragon Ball/Z/GT. (and who would **_**want**_** to own **_**that**_**?)**

**Chapter Four: The Story of the Family.**

_Squeak._

Chika did not become bored easily.

_Scratch._

She always tried to find fun in _every_ situation.

_Squeak. Squeak. _

Except for in _bad_ situations, like when her Aunt died for instance. There wasn't any fun to be found in _that_.

_Scratch. _

And when Gohan or Goten were beat up horribly by the androids. Well okay, she _did_ crack a joke whenever that happened. _"Hey guys… you suck." _Okay, it wasn't _really_ a joke—not according to humans anyway. Why were they so damn uptight?

_Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Sque—_

"Uncle Goku, I think that damn plate is clean enough!" The pencil she was holding in her hands was now snapped in half on the table. Her Uncle Goku stopped rubbing the sponge against the _very_ clean plate and spun his head round to direct a glare at her. Chika frowned and shrank back to sit down.

"Chika, I know you're as worried as I am, but there is no need for that attitude."

Chika scoffed. "As _if_. They can all take care of themselves… well; except for Gosina because _some_one won't let her even learn how to form a _ki_ blast!"

Goku sighed. "Chika, even if I let Gosina learn how to _fly_, then she would want to start training and I don't want to receive the news one day that my daughter is dead."

"But she needs to know how to protect herself!" Why couldn't Goku understand that _simple_ fact? "What if one day, she's out all by herself and then the Androids come and attack her?"

"Gosina knows I don't allow her to be outside on her own, so if the Androids _did _attack her, Gohan would be there to protect her."

"Yeah, but say Gosina sneaks out. What then?"

"She wouldn't sneak out. Gosina knows better."

Chika rolled her eyes. Just because Goku had made his daughter into a Daddy's Little Girl didn't mean she never disobeyed him. Just the other night Gosina jumped out her window to go and see Kuriza, even though her father had forbidden her from putting one foot outside that day because she mouthed off to him. ""But she's _seven_! She's going to get tired of you being such a control freak sooner or later!"

Goku whirled round on Chika, his eyes blazing with fury. He threw the plate onto the floor, thus smashing it into little pieces. "I am _not_ a control freak! Is it _really_ so wrong to want to protect my only daughter from the Androids? I'd stop Gohan and Goten from fighting if I could but they're too damn strong for me to stop!"

Chika's eyes narrowed and she let silence hang in the air for a few moments. Then, when she began to speak her words were lined with livid realisation. "So _that's_ why you won't let Gosina train. And _whose_ fault is it that Gohan and Goten are strong?"

Goku crossed his arms. "Yes, it's my fault that Gohan is strong but I never trained Goten. I—"

"—But you trained Gohan who in turn trains Goten, so you—"

"—What? What do you mean Gohan _trains_ Goten? He told me he didn't do that anymore!"

"Well he bloody does! I'm not telling you where, but he does! Even Granddad sometimes helps Gohan to train Goten."

"What are you talking about? Dad doesn't fight anymore!"

"That's what _you _think! He does fight but he only tells me, Gohan and Goten because he knows you'd give him shit if you knew!"

"I would not! He's my father; he can do what he likes!"

"Shame it isn't the same for your children! Gosina _will_ start training one day!"

"As long as I say no, which I always will, Gosina will listen to me."

Chika felt like ripping her brown hair out. "She won't be a little girl forever! One day she'll be a teenager who will go against what her daddy says—what will you do then? I'll tell you what, _nothing_! Because she'll do it without you knowing! Something will happen to Gohan and Goten and she'll fight against the Androids all alone! All because _you_ forbid her from training!"

"Why are you making me seem the bad guy here?" His voice was cracking with tears. "All I want to do is make sure my baby girl stays alive! _Why_ is that so _wrong_?"

"It's not. But I'm just saying – Gosina _will_ start to train one day."

"Well I'm putting my foot down! I'll make sure she won't."

Chika sighed. "Uncle Goku—"

"—Ssh! Gosina's talking to me."

Chika dropped her head onto the table and enclosed her arms around her head. Why did no one ever listen to her? Just because she was Raditz's daughter didn't mean that her opinions didn't matter. It seemed that her family thought like that, though. She noticed that her Uncle Goku wasn't bothered if _she_ trained or not. He probably _wanted_ her to go and fight the Androids. Well, she _did_ fight the Androids but not as much as Gohan and Goten did. If she was feeling frustrated (much like she was now) she would go and take it out on the Androids. They always knocked her unconscious, though and Gohan came and collected her. He would nurse her back to health, but she never thanked him because she knew he was only doing it because _some_one had to. Goku never _ever _yelled at _her_, however, when she took on the Androids. He never even gave her a disappointed look. He just acted as if it didn't happen.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..."

Chika shot her head up. Something terrible must have happened in order to make Goku actually _swear_. "What's wrong?"

"Gohan and Goten have flown off, leaving Gosina all alone in the car. Can you sense where she is for me?"

_Thanks for saying please, you jerk._ "Sure." Chika closed her eyes and searched for her cousin's _ki_. She found it at what used to be South City. "She's at South City, or at least what's left of it."

"Thanks, Chika!" her uncle cried as he dried his hands and ran out the front door. Chika heard him call for his Nimbus cloud and then fly away on the stupid thing.

"Great, what stupid thing have Gohan and Goten done now...?" Chika wondered out loud. Well it must have been serious for Gohan to leave his sister all by herself. Not that she could blame Gohan. Gosina could be an annoying little shit at times. Especially when she was getting one of her brothers into trouble.

But even though Chika wasn't really fond of Gosina, she hoped with all her heart that Gosina would be okay.

Because if she wasn't, then boy, was she going to _kill_ her.

**CHAPTER FOUR COMPLETE.**

**I know it's disappointing because it took ages and you were expecting a very long chapter. Sorry. The next one will be long, honestly. If it isn't, you can come and shoot me. If this was a comedy story, I would have just told you to come and blast with me with a Kamehameha wave, but it's not a comedy story so I'm not going to (I'm funny, aren't I?)**

**Yunagirlamy, 4.4.11.**


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